Proper Prone/Bipod Technique - Weight support

[Zmechanic]

So the title largely gives away my question.

I've been working on my shooting technique, especially from prone with a bipod. Lots of adjusting cheek weld height with rags, etc to get a good NPA. However, my question is with weight support.
Most instruction is adamant about muscular relaxation, but I'm not quite sure. What is the proper way to be supporting the weight of your upper body, head, etc. Does it go into your dominant shooting elbow?
Offhand elbow? (Maybe both) Through the cheekpiece into rest on the toe of the butt? I know I can get very relaxed resting most of it into the cheek of the stock, but that tries to drive it somewhat sideways which
I have to counteract with my offhand under the toe of the butt or my shooting hand on the grip, which doesn't seem right.

Anyway, any tips would be appreciated!

 

[ShtrRdy]

I've been wondering about this too. It seems I'm supporting the weight of my upper torso, (shoulders), with my elbows.

 

[Darkside-Six]

This will vary from person to person. Depending on your size it may involve your elbows in closer or out wider. You want to have a strong foundation of artificial support (bone support) and not muscle support. This way you can relax into the rifle, establish a good NPA and not have muscle tension which will shake your cross hairs. if you're fighting to keep the cross hairs aligned, weather it be fighting the rear bag or something else.....then you don't have a solid position.

 

[shovelstrokeed]

I'm with Darkside on this, it's gonna vary depending on your build. Don't be at all surprised either if raising your bipod doesn't give some help. If you have to spread your elbows way out there to get your torso down to the stock, you're going to create muscle tension trying to support the weight. Tight chest and triceps muscles. Compare how long you can stay in a front leaning rest to a half push up position. I don't do prone very often. Getting down is not really a problem but getting back up at 71 with two bad shoulders can be a bitch. Still have a similar issue from the bench and going up a notch on my bipod with a shim for the rear bag really settled me down.

 

[kmose73]

Bugholes from Bipod within AccurateShooter.com

Not sure if this addresses exactly what you want, but good info all the same.

 

[Zmechanic]

Bugholes from Bipod within AccurateShooter.com

Not sure if this addresses exactly what you want, but good info all the same.

I have actually come across that article and it's choc full of info, but it didn't quite give me the answer I was looking for. I've also watched a very informative video with a USMC instructor talking about NPA.

At times I begin to wonder if it's actually so natural for most people no one even has to talk about it?

I'm quite tall and lanky, which probably contributes to the issue.

 

[kmose73]

Are your elbows hurting? Maybe some elbow pads or something to help distribute the weight. Or get an extra rear bag and experiment propping yourself up with it in various locations.

 

[Zmechanic]

Elbows hurting isn't a big deal. I'm watching tons of videos and stuff, and the angle at which people are placing their elbows, it's impossible that they wouldn't be supporting some of their weight by using their shoulder muscles. This is mostly what I was concerned with, but it seems like it's basically inevitable unless you prop yourself waaaay up so that you can stick your arms straight down, which puts everything unnaturally high.

 

[neiltus]

I use my arms more than elbows-forearms, etc. Maybe a carry over from service rifle + personal preference. Might be a bad habit that I have grown into.

 

[tman300wm]

Obviously, this is a case of natural point of aim. Rifle pointed at the target, body pointed at the rifle. Drop to your knees straight in behind the rifle and keep your shoulder equilateral behind the butt of the rifle. Your elbows should be equidistant apart. If one is forward or aft of the other it creates a cant in the shoulders and introduces an angle the recoil will exploit. One way of determining that you are introducing this angle is if your rifle is bucking left or right during the recoil process. We have seen the introduction of some larger pillow type bags to aid larger shooters who may be having issues with chest height relative to the butt of the rifle stock. In this case, dropping one shoulder lower that the other can introduce an angle into your natural point of aim. Essentially, your shoulders should be at a 90 deg angle to the bore axis, with your spine running parallel to the bore axis and slightly right or left respectively. Pull the rifle into the shoulder pocket while simultaneously scooting your body forward to introduce pressure on the bipod.

Have a buddy, wife, girlfriend, or whatever watch you build your position behind the rifle. Explain to them that they need to be looking at your shoulders, elbows, and spinal cord relative to the bore axis. Practice building this position until it becomes second nature. If the rifle jumps left or right when you pull the trigger you are probably doing it wrong, or you may be introducing some other variable into the shooting sequence. Trigger control, breathing, sympathetic squeeze from your hand controlling your rear bag. These are all hard to self diagnose so getting quality personal instruction from a professional is something you may wish to consider.

Good luck and let me know if any of these tips aided your shooting.

Tman